Botanical/commercial classification: Photiniaxc3x97fraseri/Photinia Plant.
Varietal denomination: cv. xe2x80x98Cassinixe2x80x99.
The invention relates to a new and distinct selection of Photiniaxc3x97fraseri, a member of the rose family, Rosaceae.
The new variety of the present invention was discovered during 1991 while present in a block of container-grown Photiniaxc3x97fraseri plants (non-patented in the United States) that had been reproduced through the user of cuttings at Salem, Oreg. and at West Grove, Pa. A single plant of the new variety was discovered and was carefully preserved and studied in view of its distinctive combination of characteristics. The new variety of the present invention is believed to be a spontaneous bud sport mutation of unknown causation. Had the new variety not been discovered and preserved it would have been lost to mankind.
It was found the new Photiniaxc3x97fraseri variety exhibits the following combination of characteristics:
(a) an upright outwardly-spreading broad-leaved evergreen shrub that has a more compact growth habit as the plant ages than commonly is displayed by Photiniaxc3x97fraseri, 
(b) forms distinctive variegated foliage that is initially reddish with pink margins, changing to green with pink margins, and with the margins finally maturing to near white with near white and silver splashes over the green medial upper surfaces of the leaves,
(c) propagates well by the use of stem cuttings, and
(d) is well suited for providing attractive ornamentation in the landscape.
The new variety can be readily distinguished from its Photiniaxc3x97fraseri parent which lacks the distinctive variegated foliage and the more compact growth habit.
When grown as a two year-old juvenile plant in containers, the new variety appears to display substantially the same growth rate as the parental Photiniaxc3x97fraseri. However, as the new plant further ages a more compact growth habit commonly is observed than the parent. Young plants of the new variety have been observed to grow more vigorously in containers under nursery growing conditions with ample fertilization and water than when growing outdoors in the ground. For instance, a five year-old plant of the new variety growing in a five or ten gallon container may produce in a given season up to approximately 36 inches of terminal growth and up to approximately 18 to 24 inches of lateral branches. Alternatively, when grown in the ground, a plant of the same age may produce approximately 12 to 18 inches of terminal growth and approximately 3 to 6 inches of lateral growth.
The new variety well meets the needs of the horticultural industry and can be grown in the landscape as a colorful specimen plant or to form a hedge. The new variety also can serve as a source of unusual colorful cut foliage for use in flower arrangements.
Asexual reproduction of the new variety by the use of stem cuttings at Salem, Oreg. and at West Grove, Pa. has demonstrated that the unique combination of characteristics of the new variety is firmly fixed and is retained through successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new variety of the present invention has been named xe2x80x98Cassinixe2x80x99, and is being marketed under the PINK MARBLE trademark. xe2x80x98Cassinixe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light, day length, cultural conditions, etc.